Success story:

A solar In partnership with

solution
Introducing renewable energy
to mobile network sites

December 2021
 2 Ericsson  |  A solar solution

Powering a
cleaner network

In a decisive step towards net-zero emissions, Deutsche Telekom

has partnered with Ericsson to bring solar power to commercial
mobile broadband sites for the first time ever.

Harnessing renewables management system that controls the

In an effort to reach net-zero by 2040,
Deutsche Telekom has set itself the
ambitious target of bringing down
its direct and indirect emissions
(scope 1 and scope 2), as well as
pledging to get 100 percent of its
energy from green sources and
efficiency programs.
By partnering with Ericsson to
bring solar power to a network site,
Deutsche Telekom is signalling to the rest
of the world that it takes its environmental
responsibilities seriously.
Solar modules have never been used
to power commercial mobile broadband
sites in European markets, but Ericsson
has teamed up with Deutsche Telekom
to demonstrate how the Ericsson
Power System can be used to run
a site on renewable energy.
Solar panels were installed at
Deutsche Telekom’s mobile site in
Dittenheim, Germany during the second
half of 2020. The 12sq m panels were
designed to be compatible with the same
Radio Access Network (RAN), so the
transition was smooth and intuitive.
With the Ericsson Site Controller
managing the Ericsson Power System and
the solar voltage conversion, the solution
was able to contribute to more than
two-thirds of the site’s total power –
even during peak hours. In fact, thanks
to the efficiency of the radio equipment,
at times of high solar irradiation,
even larger shares were possible. The
operator could track and supervise the
solar energy harvest continuously via
Ericsson Network Manager (ENM).
We will evolve the Ericsson sustainability
solutions using Ericsson Controller 6610
and facilitate remote management and
monitoring beyond solar, for example
the usage of wind turbines and fuel cells
and combining local energy production
with features such as peak load shifting
and peak shaving in the radio network to
maximize usage of the renewable energy.
Over the course of July 2021, the solar
panels contributed an average 14 percent
“The benefits of autonomous power
supply for mobile sites are twofold.
First, it helps to reduce our CO2
emissions by sourcing power from
renewable sources of energy, an
important measure to achieve net
zero. Second, it will also help
enabling network expansion in
locations where development costs
were previously not economical.”
Leif Heitzer, Senior Vice President
Technology Guidance & Economics,
Deutsche Telekom
to the site’s overall power supply. However,
Figure 1 shows that this increased to about
83 percent between the hours of 12:00 and
2:00. This enabled average solar energy
harvesting of 11.5kWh per day in June,
increasing to 15.1kWh on sunny days.
Figure 2 highlights the power contribution
of the solar panels in each month of 2021
from January to June.

Figure 1: Percentage of total site power covered by solar system power

80
Percentage of total site power

60

40

20

0
04/07 11/07 18/07 25/07
3 Ericsson  |  A solar solution

The challenge
• Solar modules have not yet been
used to power commercial mobile
broadband sites in markets with
stable electricity grids.
• To harness solar power as a
supplementary source of power.

The solution
• Solar energy used for
mobile broadband sites at
a Deutsche Telekom site
in Dittenheim.
• Ericsson Power System handles
maximum power point tracking
and necessary voltage conversion.
• Solar solutions integrated with
the same management system
as the RAN.

The result
• Solar energy can contribute to
more than two-thirds of the site’s
total power during peak hours.
• Site electricity costs are lowered.

Ericsson and Deutsche Telekom have partnered to bring solar panels to a RAN network site.
Image source: DFMG Deutsche Funkturm GmbH

The total average energy consumption Figure 2: Solar energy production (January to June 2021)
of the RAN equipment on the site in
Dittenheim is 21,000kWh per year, 400
which equates to 60kWh per day. Across 350
the entire year, including winter months, 300
solar is forecast to contribute to about
250
11 percent of Dittenheim’s total RAN
kwh

site energy. This could be increased by 200

optimizing the size, positioning and 150
inclination of the solar generator, as well as
100
using solar-optimized MPPT hardware at
no additional capex. Another way to push 50
this even further is to increase the size of 0
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun
the solar panels themselves to more than
the current 12sq m.

Economical as well as environmental About the customer

Ericsson estimates that the annual global
energy cost for running mobile networks is
about USD 25 billion. This is unsustainable
from both an environmental and financial
perspective. One of the primary factors
preventing companies from embracing
solar is the high upfront cost of buying,
installing and maintaining the equipment.
However, the tests carried out by
Ericsson and Deutsche Telekom showed
that the long-term advantages of solar
power go way beyond the obvious
environmental benefits.
•D
 eutsche Telekom is one of the largest telecommunications companies in the
world, with nearly 250 million mobile customers, 27 million fixed-network lines
and 22 million broadband lines.
•P
 resent in more than 50 countries and employing more than 226,000 people,
Deutsche Telekom provides a range of internet, mobile and ICT solutions to
individual and corporate customers.
•B
 y 2030, Deutsche Telekom is aiming to reduce its carbon emissions by
90 percent compared to 2017.
•D
 eutsche Telekom aims to become carbon neutral for its own direct and indirect
emissions by 2025, including a reduction up to 90 percent compared with 2017.
•D
 eutsche Telekom will become carbon neutral across the whole value chain by
2040 at the latest.
About Ericsson
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